Is the Chamber of Commerce Dead?

Simply put: YES… and a lot of other things have died during this “cataclysmic shift” that has come upon the world.

Thanks to social media sites like Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter, Myspace, and social bookkmarking services like Digg, StumbleUpon, and Technorati, small businesses have endless opportunities to showcase their expertise.

What social media has done is enabled faster communications at a much lower cost: time and money.

A small business owner can now:

• Friend or follow other like minded people who have a strong interest in developing a relationship in the real world.
• Truly highlight their strengths, personality, and sincerity in front of thousands of people on a daily basis versus 10 to 75 per month through their local chamber of commerce.
• Network, in most cases, without paying an annual fee compared to the $300 to $600 price tag just to be part of a chamber of commerce, and another $200 to $400 to attend chamber of commerce functions.
• Advertise on a daily basis for free as opposed to paying the chamber of commerce advertising fees ranging from $100 for a very tiny ad to $700 for the prime spot.
• Promote their small business through podcasts, Youtube and Viddler videos, photos, and multimedia to show their expertise and connect with their target market in a personal, intimate way.

Social media has given small businesses the freedom to break out of the confinements of groups like the chamber of commerce.

Donald Hunter loves social media because it:

• Vets business owners and entrepreneurs, which will get rid of imposters.
• Helps business owners to gain massive exposure at zero or very low cost.
• Helps business owners by providing them simple marketing tools, which many business owners don’t do marketing on a regular, consistent basis.
• Creates an even playing field, which gives people who want to start businesses a more powerful platform to breakthrough historical and organizational barriers.

The chamber of commerce is dead, but I don’t think they know it… Donald Hunter left the chamber of commerce last March when he committed to implement social media in his business. “My business has expanded nationwide in a few short months. My challenge in the chamber of commerce and groups like Business Network International was the “clique.” A very small group of people who have been around the chamber of commerce for years really have the power, and newcomers are at their mercy.”

When I left my local Chamber of commerce I spoke with Dianna, the membership coordinator. I told her the reasons why I felt it was a lost leader. Dianna’s argument to get me to stay was that they were going to have Facebook speak at their Young Professionals group in a few months. Diana said I should stay because that showed the chamber of commerce embraces social media.

Hmm….Newspapers embraced Craigslist because they thought it was only for people looking for apartments. Look at the number of ads in your local paper today… Nilsson reports that social media usage has tripled over the past year!

We welcome your comments on this article with a link back to your own blog.

OH! BTW guys if you haven’t signed up for a free consultation it’s time to take advantage of it now because I don’t know how long it’s going to be available. So go ahead and signup now before it’s gone.

Also get my Business Survival Report it’s absolutely FREE!  There’s no catch whatsoever this is just a way for me to give back and help small businesses in these tough times. Here’s the link to my Free Business Survival Report again.

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